


Fever

by ellay_gee



Series: Whumptober 2018 [8]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Emotional Whump, M/M, Song fic, We're all crying, Whumptober, World of Ruin, but not like overly much, noctis only mentioned, this is a WoR fic, yupp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-07-28 10:00:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16239332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellay_gee/pseuds/ellay_gee
Summary: Gladiolus didn't think love was possible, but he was wrong.





	Fever

**Author's Note:**

> I'm all about the emotional whump this whumptober. Bet you're all surprised! Don't worry, we'll get to the violence, eventually. 
> 
> also, i said I'd never do a song fic, but here we are. ::shrugs::

**_Never knew how much I love you, never knew how much I care…_ **

 

Gladio knew better than to let himself fall for someone. He had duty, for gods’ sakes. A destiny.

It didn’t leave room for love. Not when you’re the shield of a king fated to die.

A shield dies for his king, or else with him. That’s how it was supposed to go.

But there he was, months after the Dawn, finding himself falling faster and harder than he thought possible. And with someone he’d known for years, no less.

He may have known better, but he went and did it anyway.

 

**_When you put your arms around me, I get a fever that’s so hard to bear._ **

 

It was fair to say that most of his life, Gladio received little affection. Though it was beyond clear to him that his father loved him and was proud, it was also clear that he needed to be tough and strong and ready to fight, to _protect_.

His sister and occasionally Noctis were truly the only people with which he regularly exchanged physical affection. Well, that was until Prompto came along.

The exuberant little blonde was always playfully punching him in the arm or hugging him or requesting high-fives. Prompto was so in need of affection himself that he readily gave it out to anyone who seemed receptive.

There were times in their younger days that this need to touch and be touched led the blonde down some painful paths. Some unkind people got their hooks into the boy and tried to dim his sunshine--

But the warrior had taken care of that.

Back then Gladio hadn’t realized that the anger he felt on his friend’s behalf might be jealousy and not just his protective instincts. He had no idea the warmth that spread across his chest when he thought about the other man was _love_. That the bright smile Prompto gave him whenever Gladio said his name might be the same feeling reflected back.

 

**_You give me fever, when you kiss me, fever when you hold me tight…_ **

 

But then so many things had happened. He hadn’t been able to protect any of them from Ardyn; hadn’t been able to stop the Crystal from taking Noctis. He’d allowed himself to grow distant from them when the darkness came, even though being near Prompto always seemed to make it brighter somehow; easier to bear.

And then Noctis came back and was gone again in the blink of an eye, leaving his shield behind without a king to guard. He put on a brave face at first but lost himself to alcohol and self-pity. Ignis tried his best, but with so many things to do and so much to rebuild, he quickly lost patience with the warrior and left him to his self-destruction. Iris refused to be around him in his sorry state, saying that she’d come back when he was good and ready to stop wallowing.

It was like everyone was abandoning him. All except one.

Prompto, who’d been through so much but still managed to smile—the boy who could light up the whole night with a toothy grin—was there for him. Prompto was by his side, helping him home when he got too sloppy to make it on his own; simmering down other bar patrons when Gladio tried to pick fights (more than once this failed and they both ended up at Iggy’s door looking for someone to patch them up).

And then, one fateful night when they were both drunk, Prompto had kissed him.

And not a chaste one, either. The freckled man grabbed Gladio by the shoulders and drew him to his lips, forcing his tongue in when Gladio let out a surprised moan. It was fair to say that once they got started, they continued on until dawn, and then some.

Gladio quit drinking for good. Hadn’t touched a single drop since that night. When his eyes had finally opened to the truth, he never wanted to close them again.

He was madly in love with Prompto Argentum.

 

**_Fever…in the morning, fever all through the night._ **

 

That realization came six months ago.

Three days ago, Prompto had come home from a survivor run. He and a hunter friend from the days of darkness had traveled to some of the old outposts, looking for any travelers who’d made it that far in the months since the Dawn. They’d brought back three more people; a woman and her two small children. That night Prompto had cried in Gladio’s arms because they would have had a fourth, but the children’s father had been ill before being rescued and had died on the journey.

Prompto dug the man’s grave and laid him to rest himself, not being able to bear the tearful eyes of the man’s children when the other hunter with him had suggested leaving the body to rot in the sun.

The next morning, Gladio woke with Prompto still in his arms and burning with fever. He was barely coherent most of the day, and then it raged on through the night. Gladio had gotten very little sleep, staying by their shared bed, keeping the cold compresses on his chest, arms, and head fresh. Prompto was unable to comprehend drinking on his own, so Gladio dipped a clean rag into water every thirty minutes and then would place the corner of it into Prompto’s mouth where he instinctually suckled from it.

By dawn the next day, the blonde was carrying on a conversation with Noctis and Gladio was nearing a breakdown. He called Ignis, who rushed over with Aranea in tow. The silver-haired woman carried Ignis’s leather satchel which held his extensive first aid kit and the last few remaining curatives.

“Temp’s at 107.4. That’s pretty damn high.” Aranea announced as she wiped off the end of the thermometer and stuck it back in the kit. Her scowl lines deepened as she stared down at Prompto’s trembling form as if she could glare the sickness out of him.

“Yes,” Ignis agreed, his tone grave. “He’s at risk of permanent brain damage if he hasn’t developed it already.” The former adviser shook his head, feeling along the wall until he reached the chair he planned to occupy for the foreseeable future.

Aranea and Gladio stood on either side of the bed exchanging looks over Prompto’s slightly trembling body. The blonde tossed and turned in his sickly sleep, murmuring at Noctis as if they were playing a game together. Every so often he’d even let out a light chuckle, which broke the warrior’s heart even more.

If there was one thing he’d learned in the last year, it was that he wouldn’t make it without Prompto.

 

* * *

 

The gods, or perhaps Noctis, had mercy on him. Whatever combination of concoctions Ignis gave Prompto seemed to work, and when they both woke with the sun the next day, his eyes were clear, if a bit tired.

“I had the weirdest dream,” he murmured, leaning into Gladio’s hand as he tucked blond strands behind a pale ear.

“Oh yeah?” Gladio asked softly, helping Prompto to sit up and drink from a bottle of water. “Why don’t you tell me about it?”

Prompto offered him a weak smile. “Dude, it was crazy. Me and Noct had to perform in a talent show in highschool and we did this weird dance number to some super old song. I was—“ his pale cheeks pinkened, making his freckles stand out. “…was, uh, wearing like this red flowy thing…?”

He giggled a little nervously, glancing up at Gladio from under already drooping lids. The warrior smiled softly at him, helping him lower himself back down into bed. “Why don’t you get a little more sleep, and tell me more about it when you wake up?”

“Kay.” Prompto nodded along, his hand seeking out Gladio’s and twisting their fingers together. “Stay with me?” he asked as he closed his eyes.

“Of course.” Gladio replied, but Prompto was already asleep once more.

**_What a lovely way to burn…_ **

**Author's Note:**

> Dream inspired by this scene from Married with Children: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlfhjcUW5Q0&t=38s warning, it has super shitty audio, but still worth the watch!
> 
> Fever is a terrific song! I prefer Peggy Lee's version, but I'm pretty sure it's been recorded by a couple hundred people. Yay for awesome music!


End file.
